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After 13 years, Delhi Police set to file chargesheet in match- fixing case

New Delhi, July 15, 2013 (PTI): 19:45 IST

After 13 years, Delhi Police is set to file a chargesheet in the cricket match-fixing scandal unearthed in 2000 in which former South African captain Hansie Cronje and others were named as an accused.

Delhi Police is also readying its first chargesheet in the spot-fixing case involving three cricketers including pacer S Sreesanth during this year's IPL-6 season.

Top Delhi Police sources said today that final touches were being given to the two chargesheets which will be filed before the current Commissioner of Police Neeraj Kumar demits his office on July 31.

Kumar is keen that the spot-fixing chargesheet is filed before he hangs his boots.

During the investigations in the spot-fixing case in which Delhi Police has arrested 29 people including three cricket players -- S Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajeet Chandila--the attention of the investigators was also drawn by Kumar to a pending case in which Cronje, who died in a plane crash, and others were named.

It was decided that along with the IPL spot-fixing case, a chargesheet into the 2000 match fixing case would also be filed.

Delhi Police has been struggling to file a chargesheet 13 years after having exposed the murky world of match-fixing in 2000.

It was in April 2000 that the Crime Branch stumbled upon the match fixing scandal when they intercepted the calls of a London-based bookie.

During investigations it was found that along with Cronje, some of his teammates were also part of the fixing league. Delhi Police had alleged that Cronje had met the bookie on March 14, 2000 during which the one-day international cricket matches between India and South Africa played in India during March was fixed in exchange for money.

Cronje had admitted to his guilt before an enquiry commission set up by South African cricket board after which he was banned for life.

In the spot-fixing case, the Delhi Police has already slapped Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against all the 29 accused arrested in the case. Some of them including Sreesanth and Chavan are already out on bail.The Delhi Police has alleged that the three players were involved in giving signals to bookies before fixing a bet.

Delhi Police claimed that they have enough evidence such as TV footage, recorded conversations, the players conceding that agreed number of runs in an over and some circumstantial evidence.

Some confessions of cricket players including Siddarth Talwar and bookies have also been recorded by the Delhi Police during the course of investigations.

The chargesheet may include names of some members of Dawood Ibrahim's gang who were allegedly mastermind of the betting syndicate.